Public offers input on Shawmut Dam environmental plan [Video]

FAIRFIELD, Maine — Can industry and conservation co-exist on the Kennebec River? The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is asking the public some version of that question as it assesses the environmental impact of four dams on the river, most notably the Shawmut Dam, where owner Brookfield Renewable is seeking a re-up of its license, a process it began in 2020.

In late March, FERC published a draft of its environmental impact statement for the dam, recommending relicensing the project but inviting the public to comment on a long list of strategies to keep the dams running while mitigating harm to migratory fish, especially the endangered Atlantic Salmon. 

In the plan, Brookfield is proposing adding passages and instruments to direct the fish downstream, while also promising to shut down turbines at Shawmut and other dams for 12 hours …